A month after taking office in August as UCSD’s seventh chancellor, former North Carolina State University Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said she is working with campus administrators to develop a new plan to achieve “innovation, interdisciplinary opportunities and internationalization” at the university.
“I recognized what a valuable institution [UCSD] is, and it really has extraordinary faculty and an extraordinary student body,” Fox said. “It’s geographically placed at a position where I think it can be a world’s leader in international education and research … and a place where I thought a leadership team could be developed that would really make this, if not the best public institution in the United States, [then] at least one of them.”
In mid-August, Fox organized a retreat for the senior-level administrative team — including vice chancellors, academic senate leaders, division deans and provost representatives — to discuss goals and plans for UCSD.
“For all of [the university’s leaders] to be on the same page … was really a very heart-warming thing for me,” Fox said.
In the short-term, Fox has established a number of task forces to study ways to implement the administration’s shared vision. One, headed by Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs Steven W. Relyea, is examining human resources and staff support, and may later influence university hiring practices. Another group is studying the quality of the undergraduate experience and student life.
An effort to focus on academic affairs and to change university bureaucracy as NCSU chancellor earned Fox scorn from that campus’ Faculty Senate. The senate voted to censure Fox after she dismissed two top administrators at NCSU, according to the school’s newspaper, the Technician.
However, Fox said no concrete plans are currently in place for major administrative changes at UCSD.
Along with the Diversity Council, chaired by professor Russell Doolittle, Fox has also been making efforts to address the issue of diversity on campus, a subject of recent criticism for the university. A task force report detailing recruitment of underrepresented groups for faculty and staff will soon be released, according to Fox. The new chancellor also promises to work on making college an accessible reality for underrepresented and low-income students.
“The emphasis [is] on access and affordability,” Fox said. “We believe there are students from underrepresented groups who are out there but don’t really believe that … the climate [at the university] will give them the kind of foundation they need to succeed.”
Originally a leader in NCSU’s drive to raise $1 billion in private support, Fox said she recognizes the need to work on UCSD’s “Imagine What’s Next” capital campaign to alleviate the effects of state budget cuts.
“I think intellectually, to be among the very best of public institutions, we have to think about ways that this decreasing share of money from the state can be supplanted by other means of providing resources,” Fox said.
Unlike her former 114-year-old campus, UCSD’s relative youth and small alumni population will present a different set of fundraising challenges, Fox said.
Fox said she has enjoyed a welcoming reception on campus, and that she has also been conversing with former acting chancellor Marsha Chandler — who competed against Fox for the position.
“I knew immediately when we started having conversations that she and I would be great friends,” Fox said. “We sort of have the same orientation, and she too loves students [and] loves the whole academic life.”
Chandler, who is currently taking a one-year sabbatical at Harvard University to conduct research as a visiting scholar, said in an e-mail that she expects to return to UCSD next year, but has not made any firm commitments for specific positions. She expressed support for Fox, her former competitor.
“I felt that after serving as acting chancellor, this would be a good time for me to switch gears for a while,” Chandler said. “Being the acting chancellor was an exciting experience for me and serving as the new chancellor … would have been exciting and challenging as well. I believe that Marye Anne Fox is a great choice and will be a terrific chancellor.”
However, Chandler said Fox is taking over at a challenging time, especially as the university is seeking to combine physical growth with improved educational quality.
“I think the challenges include being able to recruit and retain the finest scholars, to ensure that we are able to attract and fund the best graduate students and to ensure that the quality of undergraduate education continues to be enhanced by our growth,” Chandler said.
Chandler’s husband, William Chandler, a political science professor at UCSD, will also be taking a sabbatical at a research institution in France. He also plans to return to UCSD the following year.
